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Cats refreshed for AFL clash with Dogs

Rob Forsaith

A rare nine-day break has come at a perfect point in the AFL season for Geelong, especially sore stars Joel Selwood and Steve Johnson.

The Cats will be well refreshed for Sunday's clash with Western Bulldogs, having most recently played on June 27 when they snatched a dramatic victory over Essendon.

Discounting the split round 18, it is the club's longest break between games until finals.

"The break has been really valuable, especially at this time of the year," Cats assistant coach Dale Amos said.

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"Two or three extra days really make a difference.

"We're really confident that on a short turnaround we can play really well, but if you have three or four of those in a row it can start to make things a bit harder."

The Cats had a run of three consecutive six-day breaks earlier this season, coinciding with away losses to Fremantle and Sydney.

Selwood and Johnson have been carefully managed since those games in May.

"Both of those guys trained really strongly on Friday. They were really good," Amos said.

"Any extra days you get to recover and freshen up are really significant."

Amos said the Cats may look at resting Selwood and Johnson at some point in the final third of the season.

Mathew Stokes (ankle) remains a few weeks away, but Hamish McIntosh is back to battle in-form Bulldogs ruckman Will Minson at Simonds Stadium.

Allen Christensen and Steven Motlop are both starting to build fitness and form after making delayed starts to the season, while fellow speedster Josh Caddy has played two games since recovering from a broken foot.

"That's probably what we're most positive about," Amos said.

"Pre-season we thought they'd be really critical for us ... as they build match fitness that's where we can see a fair bit of improvement."

The Bulldogs made three changes to the side that pipped Melbourne by one goal, including captain Ryan Griffen, defender Jordan Roughead and debutant Jack Redpath